Stocks Mixed Amid Trade Paralysis; Bonds Gain: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday as investors continued to await signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations, while Treasuries saw modest gains.Stocks climbed in Sydney and Shanghai as did European futures, U.S. contracts were flat, while shares were lower in Tokyo and Seoul. Hong Kong equities climbed again despite continuing unrest in the city, further recouping some of last week’s losses. Earlier, the S&P 500 notched another record in a lackluster session. Oil prices added to their Monday decline. The dollar was little changed, while the pound held gains.Markets around the world are in a holding pattern, sensitive to any developments on trade after months of closely followed negotiations. Word that White House would extend a license to allow U.S. companies to do business with Chinese telecom firm Huawei competed with reports suggesting Beijing was skeptical about reaching a broad deal anytime soon.One challenge for stocks is that their 21% advance this year leaves little reason for some investors to bid prices up yet further.“We don’t think that there is much scope for global equities to receive a further boost from a trade deal along the lines of what is being reported,” Simona Gambarini, a markets economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.Meantime, the dollar fluctuated after news that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Trump tweeted that topics discussed included dollar strength and negative interest rates. The Fed said Powell’s remarks were “consistent” with his recent public comments.Elsewhere, Australia’s dollar fell after the minutes of this month’s central bank meeting showed there was a case for cutting rates.Here are some key events coming up this week:U.S. economic indicators due for release include housing starts Tuesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday.Britain holds its first televised leadership debate before next month’s election Tuesday.Federal Reserve speakers this week include district bank presidents John Williams, Loretta Mester and Neel Kashkari.European central bankers speaking this week include European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, along with Yves Mersch, Luis de Guindos, Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Philip Lane.China announces its loan prime rates, a benchmark for borrowing costs, on Wednesday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1% as of 3:07 p.m. in Tokyo.Topix index fell 0.2%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.7%.Kospi index dropped 0.4%.Hang Seng Index jumped 1.2%.Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%.Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed. The index rose less than 0.1% Monday.CurrenciesThe yen was flat at 108.60 per dollar.The offshore yuan was flat at 7.0254 per dollar.Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.The euro was at $1.1081, up 0.1%.The British pound traded up 0.1% at $1.2964.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.80%.Australian 10-year yields fell about four basis points to 1.13%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $56.81 a barrel.Gold was little changed at $1,473 an ounce.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Cormac Mullen, Joanna OssingerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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